1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to beverage carriers and more particularly to beverage carriers which are capable of including means for cooling the beverages.
2. Previous Art
The traditional beverage carrier consists of a cardboard box with an egg crate-type structure for holding the beverages. The typical "six pack" used by almost every manufacturer, bottler and distributor of beer and soda pop uses this type of carrier. Very often the carrier becomes soaked with the beer or soda as it cools down and forms condensation or sweats. Spills or the like which are quite common and cause moisture to be absorbed by the cardboard. The cardboard typically absorbs the sweat or condensation from the beverages and weakens structurally. The carrier may weaken so much that it can no longer hold the beverages and if they are bottles they may fall from the carrier and break. The glass shrouds produced from such a fall are clearly a hazard to the user and those around him. Additionally, the carrier will have failed in its only function, namely, to carry the beverages.
Others have produced rather expensive and bulky totes for beverages and other articles. These totes are in effect a miniature picnic box. They are capable of and are often used in conjunction with cooling devices such as bags of cooling gels or frozen plastic bars or ice. For example, a company selling under the trade name Igloo sells such totes under the mark "Playmate" for approximately $15.00. The container of the Playmate is made of durable and heavy weight plastic and clearly not suitable for use as a general distribution item by the manufacturers, bottlers and distributors of beer and soda pop. The cost of the container would then be more than the beverages themselves. Additionally, the added weight and bulk for manufacturers, bottlers and distributors would be unsatisfactory for shipping.
What is needed is a novel beverage carrier which performs the same function as the traditional cardboard egg crate-type beverage carrier and which is capable of housing coolant so that the beverages carried by such a carrier remain or are brought to the desired temperature.